Happy Earth Day! Here are thirteen ways gardeners can help the environment. Composting is definitely on the list, and this article gives an overview of one type of composting that’s easy to do in small spaces, even indoors, all year long.

Vermicomposting is the practice of recycling organic matter by feeding it to worms. Not all worms can be used for vermicomposting; the most commonly used worm is Eisenia foetida, aka the red wriggler. These worms can eat up to 50% of their own body weight in organic matter per day and double their population every 3 to 4 months. Worm compost is rich in nutrients and microorganisms and makes a great fertilizer for house and garden plants.

There are lots of good reasons to compost with worms:

• It’s easy
• It’s fun
• Worm bins take up very little space
• It can be done indoors, so even people without yards can do it
• It can be done year-round
• It diverts waste from landfills, thus helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Vermicomposting in Six Easy Steps

1. Acquire a bin. Instructions for purchasing or building your own can be found at http://tinyurl.com/wormbin (PDF).
2. Prepare the bedding. Instead of soil, composting red worms live in moist newspaper bedding. Like soil, newspaper strips provide air, water, and food for the worms.
   • Using about 50 pages, tear newspaper into 1/2″ to 1″ strips. Avoid using colored print, which may be toxic to the worms. Place newspaper strips into a large plastic garbage bag or container. Add water until bedding feels like a damp sponge, moist but not dripping. Add dry strips if it gets too wet.
   • Add the strips to the bin, making sure bedding is fluffy (not packed down) to provide air for the worms. Bin should be 3/4 full of damp newspaper strips.
   • Sprinkle 2-4 cups of soil in bin, which introduces beneficial microorganisms. Gritty soil particles also aids the worms’ digestive process. Potting soil or soil from outdoors is fine.
3. Add your worms. Special composting worms can be purchased online or at some specialty stores. A pound of worms is plenty to start with for the average family.
4. Feed the worms. A balanced diet includes fruit and vegetable scraps that would normally be thrown away (such as peels, rinds, and cores) along with eggshells (crushed), tea bags, coffee grinds and filters, breads/grains/cereals, and wood ash from the fireplace (in small amounts). Limit the amount of citrus fruits and onion skins that you place in the bin. Do not add meats, bones, oils, or dairy products.
   • Bury food scraps in the bin. Lift up bedding, add food scraps, then cover food with bedding.
   • To help the worms eat your scraps more quickly, cut into small pieces—the smaller, the better.
   • Measure the amount of food. For a new bin, start with just one pound. After a week or so, you can start feeding worms approximately 3 times their weight per week.
   • Monitor the bin every week to see if the worms are eating all the food. Adjust feeding levels accordingly.
5. Cover the worms. Place a full sheet of dry newspaper, burlap, or cardboard on top of the bedding. This will help maintain the moisture balance, keep any possible odors in the bin, and help prevent fruit flies from making a home in the bin. Replace this sheet frequently if fruit flies are present, or if bin gets too wet. Cover the bin with a lid made of plastic, plywood or cloth. Leave the lid ajar or drill holes into the bin so the worms get some air. Place the bin away from windows and heaters, out of the elements, ideally where the temperature stays between 60-80°F.
6. Keep worms happy! Feed them about once a week. If bedding dries up, spray with water. If bedding gets too wet, add dry newspaper strips. Fluff up bedding once a week so the worms get enough air.

Siena Farms is a small (25-acre) family farm in Sudbury (113 Haynes Rd, right off of 117).  All of Siena Farms’ produce is grown using traditionally sustainable farming practices; free of chemical herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers (organic, but not certified).  You can visit their website to see the list of vegetables and fruits they grow.

This is the 3rd year they have offered CSA shares, and they have a limit of 100 shares.  They will probably sell out by the end of February, so if you’re interested, we urge you to sign up as soon as possible. Please email me [Email address: llines #AT# gmail.com - replace #AT# with @ ] (Lisa Lines) after you sign up so I can keep a running tally of participants.

Here are the details:

• One share is a half-bushel box containing a nice variety of seasonal produce, including both fruits and vegetables.
• The deliveries to Maynard will begin on Wednesday, June 3 and continue for 25 weeks (more than 6 months!), finishing for the season on Wednesday, November 18, the week before Thanksgiving.
• The cost is $750.  This works out to $30 per week.
• Sign up either by printing and mailing this form with your check or by calling the farm and paying by credit card (see form for details).  Be sure to tell them you want to pick up in Maynard!
• Pick-up location will be the front porch at 48 Summer Street (across from the American Legion hall).  You will be able to leave the box on the porch if you would like to re-use it each week.
• Since the produce is perishable, we will ask that everyone pickup their share on Wednesday only. The boxes will be delivered by 4pm each week, and you can stop by anytime that night (no need to check in with anyone - the boxes will have your names on them). If you can’t pick up yourself, you can send a friend to pick up for you. We reserve the right to donate boxes that aren’t picked up to the Maynard Open Table.
• Splitting shares is fine, but you will need to work out the details between yourselves.  If you can’t find anyone you know to split with, let us know and we may be able to hook you up!

Please contact me [Email address: llines #AT# gmail.com - replace #AT# with @ ] if you have any questions.

1. Gardenshare: Members who have a spare corner of their garden are sharing that resource with members who lack the space for a garden of their own.
2. Mentoring: Members with experience growing edibles are matched up with members who are looking for advice or information.
3. Kitchen Garden Day: On August 24, 2008, MCG will celebrate International Kitchen Garden Day with a garden tour and harvest feast.

If you’re interested in getting involved in any of these initiatives, please contact us at maynardgardeners [Email address: maynardgardeners #AT# gmail.com - replace #AT# with @ ].

For more information:

The Victory Garden Drive — pledge to grow your own!

Revive the victory garden — Why plant a victory garden? How can one person’s actions make a difference?

Out of the Yard and Onto the Fork — a recent NY Times article on the growing kitchen garden movement

The Revolutionary Act of Gardening — a recent NY Times Magazine article by Michael Pollan

Looking for the results of our 2008 kitchen gardening survey?  Click here (you must be logged in to visit the page)